Chapter 169

CHAPTER 169

“Do you know what we need to do if our team wants to win the tournament?”

A little earlier, Keryl had asked the members of Team Jipaljikgon.

Keryl was the team leader.

Usually, that role was given to the A-rank player.

More precisely, it was assigned to whoever was the most knowledgeable theoretically or someone who understood the game well enough while also possessing leadership skills.

If the person designated as the system-appointed team captain also became the actual leader, the team could easily turn into a sinking ship.

Like Ha Yoonho’s team.

Or Ha Yoonho’s team.

Or Ha Yoonho’s team.

—We can actually win?

—We’re 0–2...

—Honestly, getting out of groups would already be great. I got matched with Kim Taewoo again and I’m already thinking about quitting the lobby. But isn’t our group also a group of death with Bat Team and Heavy Mental?

The team members were naturally pessimistic.

They hadn’t scrimmed against the teams in their group, but every one of them looked strong.

They had played enough practice matches already.

—It’s not a group of death.

Keryl reminded them of one fact.

—Why not?

—Group A is definitely hell, but ours isn’t exactly easy either...

—Because we’re here.

Ah.

—That makes sense!

The reason it wasn’t a group of death was because they were the guardians of balance.

Only one team needed to be eliminated in the group stage.

And if that one team was practically predetermined?

Then it became an easy group.

For everyone except that team.

—Anyway, hyungs and noonas, we entered this tournament to win, right?

—I entered to increase my viewer count.

—Oh glorious new viewers!

—Can’t resist that.

Of course, nobody disliked the idea of winning.

—So how do we win?

—By playing well.

—Wow. That’s on the level of “the day you were born was your birthday.”

—Ten years passed while you slept for ten years!

—To change, we need change! Hmm!

—If the economy improves, we can escape the recession!

After enthusiastically imitating a certain island nation’s politicians, they all laughed.

No explanation of the jokes was necessary.

The jokes themselves weren’t funny enough to deserve one.

For the record, the last line had come from Keryl.

—Okay, but how do we play well?

—We can’t win through mechanics.

—Why not? Why are you disrespecting us?

—Just because some kid is good at games doesn’t mean he can look down on adults! Tsk tsk.

At some point they had become close enough to immediately talk back.

Then again, Keryl had also gotten close to them.

—Because, honestly, you’re not that good.

—Tsk. No respect for your elders.

—Noona, you’re barely older than me.

—Anyway, realistically speaking, besides bot lane, we don’t have anyone who can consistently win lane and carry. Our jungler can’t reliably open up the map either.

—What about me? I’m still a C-rank.

—You’re fine, Taewoo hyung. But can you stop Pado-nim or that friend of yours?

—Could you stop Bat Team’s mid laner right now?

—Impossible.

Taewoo immediately backed down.

What couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.

After all, Keryl’s condition was carrying.

Though honestly, even if they were only talking about winning lane, Taewoo would have backed down.

—That’s why we need to win through macro instead of mechanics. That’s our path to survival and eventually to winning the tournament.

—I see.

—Macro, huh.

—You’re saying we should focus entirely on that? Since we don’t have much time.

—Taewoo hyung is right. Through our scrims, we’ve identified the direction we need to go. Every team has strengths. But none of those strengths are macro-oriented. There were barely any teams like that in previous tournaments either.

Partly because developing teamwork was difficult.

Partly because it wasn’t considered that important.

But Keryl had seen potential.

—Sounds good.

—Then our lane phase goal is simply to survive.

—Can’t we just follow every order Keryl gives? Feels like that’s what he’s planning anyway.

—Exactly.

He was trustworthy.

Thus, the grand strategy of Team Jipaljikgon, currently sitting at 0–2, was established.

The problem was Taewoo.

He knew.

That what Jin Seojun had said during his interview was aimed directly at him.

Actually, everyone knew.

And just as they were about to ask—

—Of course, you know there’s nothing we can do right now, right?

—Even tomorrow?

—Yeah. No chance.

So they approached it indirectly.

—Then if we somehow make it to the main stage and end up facing Team Wealth Gap, have you thought of any plans?

With hope in their hearts.

—Nope. None. Your friend’s mechanics are hopelessly unfair. We all saw that in Ground Zero.

This is The League.

Those words went unspoken.

Because everyone had already witnessed more than enough of Seojun’s mechanics in The League.

—What about drafting? Is there any way to counter him through champion picks?

—Honestly, I think he really is playing all of those champions for the first time. Once I confirmed that, looking for a counterpick became meaningless. I have a strong feeling he can make anything work. The only way to stop him is through macro, and we don’t have enough time to build that coordination. But don’t worry. Macro starts from the draft phase, and once the main stage begins, we’ll have an incredible ally helping us with that. I’ll reveal it tomorrow.

In other words, there was nothing they could do about tomorrow.

And so the meeting ended.

That’s right.

Keryl had never asked Taewoo to gather information.

He had merely—

“You lunatic obsessed with games! Are you really my friend after stealing even my lines?”

Taewoo had gotten scared and gone to verify whether Seojun’s interview was serious.

“The line doesn’t matter. I think the chicken’s here. Sounds like the elevator.”

“Shut up.”

“Hey. Vacuum the room first. Otherwise you’re not eating.”

“No thanks. I’m the one who ordered it. Why should I?”

Seojun smiled at him.

A smile that said, Go ahead. Try it.

A smile that clearly implied the outcome wouldn’t be pleasant.

A gaze that promised:

If you don’t clean up those crumbs, I’ll find some way, somehow, to make your life miserable.

Damn it.

“Just this once.”

Taewoo stood up and stomped toward the living room where the vacuum cleaner was.

After switching the brush head, he returned and vacuumed the bed.

To be fair, he had made the mess.

Vrrrrrrrrr!

As he vacuumed up the crumbs he had scattered, he muttered,

“Please go easy on me, you bastard.”

No.

Wait.

Would surviving really be that hard?

Wasn’t he overthinking this?

“Yeah. If I just hug my tower all game, maybe it won’t be that bad.”

They’d see tomorrow.

[FIRST BLOOD!]

[Sword God → Kim Taewoo]

[DOUBLE KILL!]

[Sword God → Kim Taewoo]

[Sword God → Gyeolbyeok]

[He is on a rampage!]

[Sword God → Kim Taewoo]

“Ah! Kim Taewoo was under his tower the moment he arrived, but Seojun immediately dove him and killed him! What is this?!”

Bangju shouted.

[Blessing of Radiance]

“And despite that, Seojun’s Kael escapes alive with invulnerability!”

“Isn’t this just cruel? He’s completely locked in!”

“Then why did they leave Kael open? Why?! Jipaljikgon! They really do keep ruining their own fate!”

“Hm. Maybe they thought banning all three of his champions would lead to the same result anyway?”

Penggwon speculated.

He was exactly right.

Keryl had thought the same thing and simply handed Kael over to Seojun.

There was no point hiding cards.

And he had no intention of winning this match anyway.

After starting 0–2, wasn’t it better to commit fully and finish 0–3?

That way they could lull their opponents into complacency.

If they managed to win even one game in the group stage afterward, their chances of advancing would rise dramatically.

Keryl was steadily laying down the groundwork.

And the price for that strategy was—

“Team Captain Kim Taewoo! He almost flamed his jungler there, but somehow held it in! Is his true personality coming out?”

“I heard Captain Kim Taewoo was generally easygoing and enjoyed the game, much like Captain Ha Yoonho. This is unexpected.”

“Yes. He looks genuinely irritated.”

Taewoo had to endure all the suffering.

—Of course he can’t stay calm.

—Because they’re classmates LOL

—If your friend ends up on the enemy team, you have to dive him even if it kills you.

—Why?

• Because that's what friends are! Mm!
• Friends are people you want to beat up and mess with for no reason.
• That's male friendship.
• If you can't mess with them, there's a high chance you're not actually that close. LOL
• FACTS

“Kim Taewoo, unable to enjoy the game casually, trudges back to lane after dying. He’s already at three deaths. His mental state seems to be crumbling.”

“Ah! And right then Seojun dives again! Has he finally given up?”

“Feels a little early to give up. We’re not even halfway there yet.”

“You mean ten deaths?”

“Yes.”

[He simply cannot be stopped!]

[Sword God → Kim Taewoo]

“Ah! He died again!”

“The teammates are laughing at Kim Taewoo and asking what he’s doing. Why can’t he survive?”

“The fact that capsules have built-in batteries must be incredibly unfortunate for Team Captain Kim Taewoo right now.”

At Bangju’s comment, Arin asked:

“Why?”

“If capsules didn’t have batteries, then if I were Kim Taewoo, I would have disconnected immediately, flipped the breaker, and pretended the power went out. Or maybe I’d actually cause a blackout.”

“Ah! Wouldn’t that get him punished?”

“No idea!”

“Got it!”

• LMAOOOO these casters are insane
• Is he really going for ten deaths?
• LOL the true weakest team is Jipaljikgon
• Rage quit angle

“You think this is where it ends?”

“Then what?”

“Our support is Keryl, the Analyst. As time passes, your actions and your teammates’ every move will be analyzed, predicted, and shut down. Which means your team's chances of winning only go downhill from here.”

Taewoo spoke confidently.

All of his teammates were dead.

Taewoo had died before them and revived first.

Meaning he had just respawned.

And since he had just respawned, he could actually talk with Seojun.

“Well then, what are you doing? The game looks over.”

“Huh? You're right.”

That meant Seojun was standing in front of their Nexus.

Seojun swung his sword at the Nexus one final time.

The Nexus's health dropped.

The game ended.

• Taewoo, wake up LOLLLLL
• He really made sure to ruin his friend properly.
• 0 / 13 / 7 LOLLLLL

[GG! With the third game of the day now concluded, the official Rios scrims have come to an end!]

[And in that final game, we were treated to a heartwarming display of friendship. What do you think, Caster?]

[I agree. Friendship means finding your friend no matter the circumstances!]

• Finding your friend and then killing him LOL
• This is friendship???
• I like how clear the objective is

After exiting the game, Seojun watched the broadcast.

[We also can't overlook Ha Yoonho, who farmed carrots until the very last moment.]

[In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Team Captain Ha Yoonho spent the entire match cultivating carrots.]

Seojun glanced to the side.

There was a hero resembling a badger that used poison stingers and planted poisonous mushrooms.

Ha Yoonho had selected that hero.

Along with a special skin.

For reference, that skin changed the mushrooms into carrots.

Ha Yoonho broke into a cold sweat and avoided Seojun’s gaze.

At least nobody figured it out.

As expected, Lee Dongsu had been an excellent decoy.

Though even if they had figured it out, it wouldn't have changed much.

Starting tomorrow, all of his teammates would be visible to him.

Seojun felt an even greater need to prepare thoroughly.

Ha Yoonho’s rebellion had been stronger than expected.

[Now that the scrims have ended, the biggest point betting event in Travel has officially opened!]

[The championship prediction, right?]

[That's correct! Everyone, place your bets carefully! Betting will remain open until the main event begins. Watch how each team prepares and make your decisions wisely.]

[The points keep pouring in!]

[Travel viewers! Stop! Once you've selected a team, you can only add more points to that same team! You can't switch teams or cancel your bet! Think carefully!]

There was a reason this was called the biggest point betting event in Travel.

First of all, the scale of participation was on another level.

And unlike normal predictions, there was no 250,000-point betting limit.

[I'm telling you to stop betting! If the teams look like a disaster later and you regret it, don't blame me!]

Seojun checked the channel point prediction opened through the official account.

Each team had already accumulated ten to twenty thousand points.

[Channel Point Prediction]

[Predict the Rios Champion!]

[Just One Bite] – 14%

[Wealth Gap] – 17%

[Heavy Mental] – 21%

The percentages represented how much of the total betting pool had been placed on each team.

Everything was fairly balanced.

The whales haven't invested yet.

This betting event was a massive opportunity to multiply one's assets.

There was no betting cap.

And since there were six different teams to choose from, there was no obvious favorite.

The payout would simply be a multiple of the points wagered.

Of course, the chance of losing was equally high.

Which was why people needed to be careful.

Then it happened.

[Wealth Gap] – 99%

The percentage of total points bet on Team Wealth Gap suddenly shot up to ninety-nine percent.

The graph surged upward.

Huh?

That meant someone had just placed an absurd amount of points.

A notification appeared.

[+30,000,000 Points]

[Holy crap!]

[Thirty million points?! Who was that?!]

[What kind of monster would do that?!]

Then the user who had placed the points became visible.

They sat proudly at the top of the highest-bettor rankings.

The owner of those points was the current richest person in Travel.

[I Am the Assassin of Foolish Joseon]

It was Joam.